The Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies lead the charge, as their pitchers and catchers will be the first to officially report Monday. But then the floodgates will open, with the other 28 teams’ battery mates due in camp by Thursday.

The first few days of spring training will be dominated by footage of pitchers doing their agility drills—you know, the slow-jog, high-knee-kick thing that looks somewhat like a poorly choreographed Rockettes routine—but the position players won’t be far behind.

And that means we soon will hear all about tweaked hamstrings, pulled groins, stiff backs and … position battles. Listed below are four of the most vital.

Three of these teams have played in the past two World Series and the other hopes to reach the Fall Classic after a 24-season drought:

Los Angeles Dodgers: SS

The team had hoped to solve its shortstop dilemma this spring, but Hanley Ramirez’s decision to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic threw a wrench into those plans. And it won’t help that Ramirez will serve primarily as the Dominican’s DH, thanks to Jose Reyes starting at shortstop and Adrian Beltre starting at third base.

The general consensus around baseball is that Ramirez, who spent the first six seasons of his career as a shortstop, would be better off at third, where the Miami Marlins moved him in 2012 before ultimately sending him to the West Coast. But the Dodgers are willing to give Ramirez the opportunity to prove he should stay at shortstop this spring. Now that opportunity will consist of just a few weeks.

Not only would Ramirez be better defensively at third, that move would address another need for Los Angeles. The team lacks a true leadoff hitter, a role shortstop Dee Gordon could fill if he starts. If Ramirez stays at shortstop, the unproven Luis Cruz will start at the hot corner.

Texas Rangers: CF

Assuming he avoids a suspension for his alleged involvement with the Biogenesis mess, Nelson Cruz will start in right field. David Murphy, who finally appears to have shed the platoon role, will start in left field. That leaves a void in center, thanks to the free-agent departure of Josh Hamilton.

Craig Gentry and Leonys Martin are the front-runners for the role and likely will be platoon mates, unless of them seizes the job outright in camp. The one certainty: Hamilton’s power numbers are far from reach. The righthanded-hitting Gentry has two homers and 43 RBIs in 476 career major league plate appearances, while the lefthanded-hitting Martin is homerless with six RBIs in 60 career plate appearances in the majors.

Michael Bourn remains available, but the Rangers continue to downplay their interest in the free-agent center fielder. It also seems unlikely that Texas will attempt to alleviate its infield logjam by moving second baseman Ian Kinsler or uber-prospect Jurickson Profar to the outfield.

Detroit Tigers: LF

This team is so loaded that it probably could plug in Craig Monroe—its starter at the position a decade ago—in left field, finish well ahead of the pack in the AL Central and rank among the league’s most productive offenses. Eight players manned left for the Tigers last season, and there is no shortage of candidates again this spring.

Andy Dirks, Avisail Garcia, Brennan Boesch, Nick Castellanos and Quintin Berry are among the options, with each bringing positives and negatives to the competition. Dirks is the favorite because he has some power and can hit for average, Boesch has shown flashes of greatness but also has battled bouts of inconsistency, Garcia is a developing power hitter but could use more minor league seasoning, Castellanos a promising prospect but struggled at Class AA last season, and Berry brings speed but little pop.

A platoon would make sense, except for the fact that Dirks, Boesch and Berry all hit lefthanded. And the Tigers don’t want to use the righthanded-hitting Garcia and Castellanos in part-time roles in the majors when they could be getting valuable full-time at-bats in the minors.

St. Louis Cardinals: 2B

Gone are Skip Schumaker, who started 51 games at the position after serving as the primary starter from 2009-11, and Tyler Green, a former first-round pick who started 40 games at second in 2012. That leaves incumbent Daniel Descalso, corner infielder Matt Carpenter and prospect Kolten Wong.

Descalso, who started a team-high 66 games at second last season, is more valuable for his glove than his bat (.227/.303/.324 with four homers and 26 RBIs last season) and is the safe choice. St. Louis is intrigued by Carpenter’s bat and will try to convert him into a middle infielder this spring. However, Carpenter never played second base in his four seasons in the minors and appeared in only five games there in 2012 with the Cardinals. Wong, a first-round pick in 2011, hasn’t played above Class AA, where he committed 17 errors at second base last season.

Barring a defensive revelation on the part of Carpenter, Descalso’s stability should win out because the shortstop position also is unsettled. Rafael Furcal is returning from a season-ending elbow injury, and Pete Kozma hasn’t established himself as an every major leaguer.